Thursday, February 23, 2012
HOME WELCOME IMPORTANT MESSAGE ABOUT US CLASSIFIED CONTACT US ENVISION ENVUE LINKS OPTI-GUIDE OPTI-MAIL OPTI-NEWS OPTI-PROMO OPTI-REP MAGAZINE ARCHIVES Beginning january 2002 - Ending january 2011 Beginning july 2007 - Ending january 2011 Beginning jannuary 2002 - Ending may 2007	IMPORTANT MESSAGE Mr. David McGowan, president of the College of Opticians of Alberta and a member of the board of directors of the Opticians Association of Canada (OAC), published an editorial in the College’s newsletter The Eighth Line (Issue 080, July 2011). After reading the column titled «Prez Mez, Message from the President», we can only conclude that there are persons that are still unaware of the fact that Breton Communications, publisher of Opti-Guide, manages the most important database of people working in the optical industry in Canada. In the same editorial by Mr. McGowan, we further conclude that there are persons who are not fully aware of the information resources available on our Web site. The editorial merits a rebuttal because it did not report the truth, since then Mr. McGowan has revised his online editorial and can now be consulted on the Web at the following address: http://www.opticians.ab.ca/my_folders/Newsletters/80_Summer_2011_web.pdf. Mr. McGowan erroneously reported that he was not included in our Web-based database. Obviously he does not know that in order to find information about himself, all he has to do is go to the address http://www.opti-guide.com and enter his username and password to access the professional zone. Since the launch of our Web site in 2003, one can find the names of all of the eye care professionals in Canada and optical retailers’ offices. The list of retailers is on the home page so that the general public can refer to it at all times. However, in order to protect the lists of eyecare professionals, they are stored in a secure zone of the Web site for which each professional and retailer holds his personal access code. This ensures that access to the names of eye care professionals is reserved only to authorised persons of the optical industry qualified to receive secured access codes. Given that he could not access his personal information, Mr. McGowan has once again committed an error when he claimed that Breton Communications used the OAC membership list. This illustrates the fact that Mr. McGowan does not fully understand that Breton Communications’ database is more that 25 years old, that it is constantly updated, and that it is the most comprehensive one in the optical field in Canada. A short summary of the history of our database will help illustrate why Mr. McGowan’s claims are unfounded. The current database is sourced out of the first database of names created by Publédition inc., a former publisher of several specialised magazines, including Coup d’œil (the official publication of the Ordre des opticiens d’ordonnances du Québec) and directories such as Optique-Québec, Optical-Ontario and Optical-West, a database of names where could be found all opticians, optometrists, ophthalmologists and ocularists in Canada. These lists were supplied by the different colleges and professional associations. During the course of her work at Publédition starting in 1986, Martine Breton was mandated in 1994 to create a consolidated edition of the list of names that became the Opti-Guide. The first edition of this list was published in 1994 and included 268 pages. In the same year, Breton Communications acquired most of all the assets of Publédition, including the intellectual property rights of the databases of the Opti-Guide. In 1997, Breton Communications entered into an agreement with the OAC, becoming the official publisher of Vision Magazine. This agreement stipulated that the OAC regularly supply updates of its membership list. It did not stipulate that the list was to be handed over to the OAC in case of a breach of contract or its cancellation. In fact, Breton Communications would never had signed an agreement specifying that it should hand over such a list at the end of the contract because at the time Breton Communications’ database of names was more complete and better managed than that of the OAC. The 1998 edition of the Opti-Guide made up 332 pages includes the addresses of opticians, optometrists, ophthalmologists and ocularists, as well as a complete list of all optical retailers in Canada. Following the launch of the Web site www.opti-guide.com in 2003, Breton Communications decided to delete the professionals’ names from the printed version of the directory; that information was now available on the Web site. Breton Communications’ database has always been independent and separate from that the OAC sent and reserved exclusively for the mailing of Vision Magazine. Thereasons are self-evident: the database supplied by the OAC was in an Excel format and did not include telephone numbers, fax numbers, e-mail addresses or Web site addresses. Furthermore, the list did not respect Canada Post specifications and several errors had been identified. Given that the databases were incompatible, Breton Communications had to use the OAC database to mail the magazines. Year after year, Breton Communications incurred considerable expense to correct the mistakes. Several examples help illustrate the fact that Breton Communications absorbed high costs in order to supply the OAC with an error-free list. In January 2008, during the negotiations to renew the publishing contracts, the OAC asked Breton Communications for an increase in royalties. Breton Communications submitted an Excel file identifying the expenses associated with the verification of the incorrect addresses supplied by the OAC. The shortcomings of the OAC lists generated an average of 106 incorrectly addresses per issue of Vision Magazine for a total annual of 636 returns. This represented an annual expense of $985.80 to cover additional postal costs and to undertake the necessary research to correct the addresses. Breton Communications submitted these corrections free of charge to the OAC. In 2010, Breton Communications experienced an average of 130 returns per magazine issue, generating more than $1,653.38 in expenses. This phenomenon has been ongoing since 1998. We are reasonably confident of the numbers and wish to underscore the fact that Breton Communications supplied, for the last 14 years, an average of 125 corrected addresses per issue of the magazine for a total of 10,500 corrected addresses, the cost of which was entirely paid for by Breton Communications. This number represents more than the total names in the entire OAC database. The facts are clear: over time Breton Communications helped the OAC to create and maintain its database.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

MAGAZINE ARCHIVES

Beginning january 2002 - Ending january 2011

Beginning july 2007 - Ending january 2011

Beginning jannuary 2002 - Ending may 2007

IMPORTANT MESSAGE

Mr. David McGowan, president of the College of Opticians of Alberta and a member of the board of directors of the Opticians Association of Canada (OAC), published an editorial in the College’s newsletter The Eighth Line (Issue 080, July 2011). After reading the column titled «Prez Mez, Message from the President», we can only conclude that there are persons that are still unaware of the fact that Breton Communications, publisher of Opti-Guide, manages the most important database of people working in the optical industry in Canada. In the same editorial by Mr. McGowan, we further conclude that there are persons who are not fully aware of the information resources available on our Web site. The editorial merits a rebuttal because it did not report the truth, since then Mr. McGowan has revised his online editorial and can now be consulted on the Web at the following address:
http://www.opticians.ab.ca/my_folders/Newsletters/80_Summer_2011_web.pdf.

Mr. McGowan erroneously reported that he was not included in our Web-based database. Obviously he does not know that in order to find information about himself, all he has to do is go to the address http://www.opti-guide.com and enter his username and password to access the professional zone.

Since the launch of our Web site in 2003, one can find the names of all of the eye care professionals in Canada and optical retailers’ offices. The list of retailers is on the home page so that the general public can refer to it at all times. However, in order to protect the lists of eyecare professionals, they are stored in a secure zone of the Web site for which each professional and retailer holds his personal access code. This ensures that access to the names of eye care professionals is reserved only to authorised persons of the optical industry qualified to receive secured access codes.

Given that he could not access his personal information, Mr. McGowan has once again committed an error when he claimed that Breton Communications used the OAC membership list. This illustrates the fact that Mr. McGowan does not fully understand that Breton Communications’ database is more that 25 years old, that it is constantly updated, and that it is the most comprehensive one in the optical field in Canada.

A short summary of the history of our database will help illustrate why Mr. McGowan’s claims are unfounded.

The current database is sourced out of the first database of names created by Publédition inc., a former publisher of several specialised magazines, including Coup d’œil (the official publication of the Ordre des opticiens d’ordonnances du Québec) and directories such as Optique-Québec, Optical-Ontario and Optical-West, a database of names where could be found all opticians, optometrists, ophthalmologists and ocularists in Canada. These lists were supplied by the different colleges and professional associations.

During the course of her work at Publédition starting in 1986, Martine Breton was mandated in 1994 to create a consolidated edition of the list of names that became the Opti-Guide. The first edition of this list was published in 1994 and included 268 pages. In the same year, Breton Communications acquired most of all the assets of Publédition, including the intellectual property rights of the databases of the Opti-Guide.

In 1997, Breton Communications entered into an agreement with the OAC, becoming the official publisher of Vision Magazine. This agreement stipulated that the OAC regularly supply updates of its membership list. It did not stipulate that the list was to be handed over to the OAC in case of a breach of contract or its cancellation. In fact, Breton Communications would never had signed an agreement specifying that it should hand over such a list at the end of the contract because at the time Breton Communications’ database of names was more complete and better managed than that of the OAC.

The 1998 edition of the Opti-Guide made up 332 pages includes the addresses of opticians, optometrists, ophthalmologists and ocularists, as well as a complete list of all optical retailers in Canada. Following the launch of the Web site www.opti-guide.com in 2003, Breton Communications decided to delete the professionals’ names from the printed version of the directory; that information was now available on the Web site.

Breton Communications’ database has always been independent and separate from that the OAC sent and reserved exclusively for the mailing of Vision Magazine. Thereasons are self-evident: the database supplied by the OAC was in an Excel format and did not include telephone numbers, fax numbers, e-mail addresses or Web site addresses. Furthermore, the list did not respect Canada Post specifications and several errors had been identified.

Given that the databases were incompatible, Breton Communications had to use the OAC database to mail the magazines. Year after year, Breton Communications incurred considerable expense to correct the mistakes. Several examples help illustrate the fact that Breton Communications absorbed high costs in order to supply the OAC with an error-free list.

In January 2008, during the negotiations to renew the publishing contracts, the OAC asked Breton Communications for an increase in royalties. Breton Communications submitted an Excel file identifying the expenses associated with the verification of the incorrect addresses supplied by the OAC. The shortcomings of the OAC lists generated an average of 106 incorrectly addresses per issue of Vision Magazine for a total annual of 636 returns. This represented an annual expense of $985.80 to cover additional postal costs and to undertake the necessary research to correct the addresses. Breton Communications submitted these corrections free of charge to the OAC.
In 2010, Breton Communications experienced an average of 130 returns per magazine issue, generating more than $1,653.38 in expenses. This phenomenon has been ongoing since 1998.

We are reasonably confident of the numbers and wish to underscore the fact that Breton Communications supplied, for the last 14 years, an average of 125 corrected addresses per issue of the magazine for a total of 10,500 corrected addresses, the cost of which was entirely paid for by Breton Communications. This number represents more than the total names in the entire OAC database. The facts are clear: over time Breton Communications helped the OAC to create and maintain its database.